A summer of sport & science

This summer is one of sport: the European Athletics Championship in Rome, the European football championship in Germany, and of course, the Games in Paris – to mention but a few events!

Why not take a short break from cheering on athletes and discover how science shapes sport?

For millions around the globe, sport is an important recreation to watch and to take part in. At the EU Sport Forum, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Iliana Ivanova recalled how "the Olympic Games are not only a celebration of sport and great athletes” but also “a celebration of unity, solidarity, respect and equality. Values that are more important than ever”.

The worlds of science and sport are teaming up to improve human rights at sporting events and to enhance sport’s health benefits.

Going for gold: how science can improve the benefits of sport

Is sport actually healthy? While sport brings people together, boosts confidence, and improves fitness, the HPSC-PAT project is researching sport’s less-positive side: exclusion, injury, and harassment. To do so, the project analysed how local sports clubs promoted health amongst its members, so that policymakers can support the development of holistic health policies at the grassroots level.

For many, practicing sport outdoors amplifies its benefits. But at the same time, the great outdoors comes under duress due to human activity. Both the DAiSI and VIMAS projects are researching ways to ensure outdoor recreation can live in harmony with nature, biodiversity, and can be done sustainability.

Foul play? Making sport inclusive for all through research

With Horizon Europe, the Commission reaffirms its commitment to gender equality in research and innovation making it a cross-cutting priority and introducing strengthened provisions, such as the Gender Equality Plans. The SUPPORTER project is applying the same logic to higher education sport institutions, ensuring Gender Equality Plans are inclusive, intersectional, impactful and address a wide-range of issues, including gender-based violence.

Is weightlifting for boys and gymnastics for girls? Unfortunately, sport is often divided along the gender binary. The ENGENDEREDsport project is examining how international sport federations create, enforce, and dismantle these binaries in order to recommend policies that address outdated gendering.

Football is considered to be “the beautiful game” - and it is Europe’s most popular sport. Nevertheless, even while its popularity is soaring, women’s football struggles to gain the same support as the men’s game. The FEDev-WF project is developing a fan-engagement practice to generate much needed income for women who play the beautiful game.

New methods for improving human rights and safety at sport events

Major sporting events have a poor track record when it comes to human rights; forced evictions, human rights abuses, migrant labour, and media censorship. The EventRights project is seeking to reverse this trend so that sporting events can enact positive social outcomes. The project will develop recommendations to ensure a rights-based approach to the planning, delivery, and legacy of events.

Gatherings of thousands of people bring key security risks. Stadiums are considered to be ‘soft targets’ because terrorists can cause significant damage, injury and loss of life. The S4AlllCities ran a pilot project in a football stadium in Pilsen, Czechia to test safety measures that balance citizens’ privacy with their security.